Till the Day You Die
by Keytripper
Summary: A week before the wedding, Astrid is hit with something that can change her life. Will Hiccup be able to save her from this? Will Astrid still be able to be the Fearless Astrid Hofferson, and with a new threat on the horizon?
1. Chapter 1

It was a week until her Wedding. Astrid's wedding. She would be the chieftess of Berk, after a few years of betrothal to Hiccup, known throughout the Archipelago as the Dragon Master.

Drago's defeat had taken place three months earlier, and Berk had finally been rebuilt with the help of all the new dragons. She had hardly seen Hiccup aside from their morning flights, since he had been so busy training all the new dragons and, you know, the whole chief thing. She had helped a lot as well; she and the rest of the gang were at the front of the training and rebuilding efforts. They all seemed so busy though. Fishlegs was busy categorizing and studying all the new dragons, and pretty much rewrote the book of dragons in the process. Snotlout had been, well, you know, Snotlout, and the twins needed no help finding trouble all on their own.

For her, though, things were different. She had been fighting for so long first against and now for dragons. She was independent and free. Ever since the betrothal, she had slowly let Hiccup into her bubble, as her non-violent self began to show, but now with time to herself before the wedding, she had trouble preparing herself to give everything up to truly be Hiccup's. Would she stay the fierce warrior? Would she even want to?

It wasn't like she doubted her love for him or even that they should get married; after the chief's death and Drago's attack, she had found herself longing for the commitment they shared to finally become permanent. She was simply nervous, which is normal for anyone about to get married.

This evening Astrid was atop Stormfly as they glided over the water headed back for Berk. As they approached, the evening mist began to clear and she once again took in the view of Berk, her island. She had grown up here. It had changed a lot, but it was her home. She would give anything to keep it safe, to keep the ones she loved safe. She had proven it time and time again.

Once she landed on Berk, she had to duck to avoid several terrible terrors flying by quickly. Children ran through the street chasing them as she went. Several Nadders took off after saying hello to Stormfly in their own dragon way. At the docks, more ships came to dock. Yep, this isn't the Berk she was born to. It was much better.

Vikings from all over the Archipelago were coming to see the Dragon Master. Many were here for the wedding, and a good many had never set foot on Berk before. Ever since the news of Drago and his defeat spread, Hiccup Valka and Astrid had explored all the lands they could. They had come across many strange places and people. In the past, Hiccup and Valka had explored these lands in the past, but as the people ran for cover they never bothered to introduce themselves. Now, the three would land and Hiccup would meet the chief of each village as the Dragon Master before flying off again. The whole point was to spread the peace between Vikings and dragons. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but by all accounts Hiccup was the wisest in the Archipelago, or at least was held as so by all who came to Berk seeking his guidance. If he had wanted to, he could have declared himself ruler of all the islands and no one would put up a fuss. I know that seems crazy being Vikings and all, but let's just say things had changed, for better or for worse.

The way Berkians dressed too had changed. Dragon scales replaced fur, just like gronkle iron had replaced wood in the newer buildings. Hiccup had even changed the design of Astrid's outfit, giving her more armor and a mask so she wouldn't stand too far apart from him and Valka on expeditions. When she did not wear it, she was covered in war paint, as were most other Berkians regardless of the occasion. Bright colors lined everything, as though the entire island were itself made of a rainbow of dragons. After all, it was usually covered in one.

All over guests were coming in for the feast the chief was holding in honor of their wedding. Astrid headed straight for the great hall, the only spot on Berk that stayed virtually unchanged despite years of attacks and fires. The commotion inside was surprisingly less than the chaos outside. Hiccup sat on his throne at one end, his face all a painted as he stood up to greet her.

"Astrid, there you are! I was wondering how long you would take to get back. Everyone wants to meet you!" He hurried her to several other chieftains from other islands whom he had met as a child. Toothless stayed near the throne, on a spot he had burned for himself on the ground. He hardly ever left Hiccup's side, so he must have been tired.

On the other end of the Great Hall, Snotlout was talking with the twins over jugs of mead. "I bet the two love birds will stay in Hiccup's house. It was hardly damaged, so there was no need to rebuild it."

"Well," said Ruffnut. "The other day I was walking by his house when I saw Gobber carrying several packages of supplies in and out."

"Sounds suspicious to me…" agreed her twin brother Tuffnut.

"You're just making too much out of this. Of course he probably wants to renovate, clear the old chief's stuff out, stuff like that," said Snotlout.

"Of course, Astrid might just stay in her own house," said Ruff.

"That's stupid. Why would she want to stay with her parents?"

"I don't know, but wasn't it your great uncle who stayed with his parents instead of moving in with his wife?" said Tuff.

"No, it was _your_ great aunt," his sister corrected

"Yes of course, except in that case it was my great aunt who wouldn't leave her house to live with her _husband_ , not her wife because even she wasn't that weird."

"Wait," said Snotlout. "Didn't your great uncle have leprosy?"

"Actually it was just a really bad case of blackheads," said Ruff.

"He won the record for the largest squirt," said Tuff.

"Okay, gross," said a woman's voice from behind them. They turned around to see that it was Heather with her brother.

"Where is my little brother?" asked Dagur. I have to congratulate him!"

Snotlout pointed to the other end of the room. "He's over there."

"Yeah," said Tuffnut. "As soon as your friend finds a girl you go out with the garbage."

"Didn't you want to sit over here instead of over there where he invited you to sit?" his sister asked.

"Only because I couldn't stand him doting over Astrid."

"She wasn't even here yet!"

"Better safe than sorry."

"Brother!" Dagur called out to Hiccup before giving him a bear hug. Then the chief Hiccup had just finished introducing Astrid to got angry at Dagur for attacking him in the past, back when he was known as Dagur the Deranged. It took Hiccup several minutes to calm things back down again.

The feasting went on long after the introductions had ended, and there was such a turnout that even though the great hall had in the past held the gatherings of many Viking chiefs and warriors, the celebration was extended to just outside the great hall where Vikings feasted by dragon light. It was late in the evening, or I suppose early in the morning, when Astrid finally retired. Her parents followed her home as they were exhausted as well as drunk. "I am so proud of you," her father said before she headed upstairs. "My little girl is all grown up."

She was so tired that when she got to her bed she simply collapsed.


	2. Chapter 2

Hiccup had taken his father's death hard. He couldn't let it show, of course. He had to be strong for Berk, for his image throughout the archipelago, and even for Astrid. Only she was able to see through the guise on occasion to see how much he was hurting inside. He realized now more than ever how much he relied on her for support, which is why he set the wedding date as soon as the major repairs were completed.

Whenever he felt like there was time to get away, he would fly around the island with Toothless. Often Astrid accompanied him, but once and a while he was by himself. He tried to enjoy the time as much as he could; after all, he would only be a bachelor for a short time, and he would never be as free as he was at this point in his life ever again. However, whenever he was alone like this, he could not help but shed the tears he had been holding for so long that no one else should see. Sometimes he even found himself yelling at the gods for letting his father die.

His mother helped as much as she could, but she could not understand what he was going through. She might understand his love for dragons, and his love for her Stoic, but never having been there for him for twenty years, she did not know him. He had been an outcast for most of his life. His father had suddenly started caring for him, and he was suddenly the most famous Viking in the archipelago, just for training Toothless. Ever since then he had had so much responsibility on his shoulders. The gang as well as all of Berk and its allies looked up to him, and if it hadn't been for his father's support, he may not have lived up to the expectations.

And now his father was gone, and yet more responsibility was placed upon his shoulders. The chiefdom he had been brought up to one day inherit. Marriage, however, was something different. Despite his love for Astrid, he was expected to wed anyways as part of becoming chief to provide Berk with a suitable heir in case he were to befall a fate similar to that of his Father. And this was a responsibility he had to prepare for all on his own.

At last the day of the feast came. Ships from all over the Archipelago were arriving. Hiccup took a seat at his throne in the great hall and waited for Astrid to arrive, as Toothless lay next to him. "You tired bud?" Toothless looked up at him. "Yeah me too. Long week hu?" Toothless turned his head to the sound of Vikings entering the hall. Hiccup stood to greet them.

Hiccup had to stay throughout the feast. At one point he woke himself up after dozing off to find that most of the Vikings had either left to their homes and ships for the night or were asleep in the great hall. The feasting had lasted all night long and it would be a surprise if anyone awoke again before noon. Spitelout, Gobber and several other Vikings were still feasting however. He hobbled over to join them.

"Chief, you can go ahead and head home," said Gobber. "Just us here, and ya' need the rest."

"Aye, you're right. I'm headed to bed." Toothless woke up and joined him out the door as the remaining feasters gave a shout of laughter at something Spitelout said.

Hiccup had made it to the door of his home, but as he was about to open it he heard a large thud and mischievous laughter from behind him. He turned to see Ruffnut and Tuffnut jump off their dragon.

"Awe man," wined Tuff. "He's already awake!"

"Shouldn't you two be asleep?" Hiccup asked.

"Oh, we never sleep after a feast," said Ruffnut. "There's just too much fun in scaring people this tired."

"Yeah," said her brother. "Except, I think the last guy was so drunk he thought I was his neighbor's dragon breaking in again and nearly hit me with his axe." This earned a high-five from Ruff.

"Do I have to remind you two again, as chief, to stop stirring up animosity!? You are up too early!"

"Fine. But, didn't you say we should be early risers?"

"Yeah. The sun's almost up," said Tuff. Hiccup looked to see that yes, the sun was starting to rise.

"Look, can't you guys just go fly around some until people wake up more, please?" A very annoyed Hiccup entered his hut and slammed the door behind him.

Tuffnut looked at his sister. "What's with him?"

Hiccup stopped by his Dad's room before he headed upstairs. It was very large, and would do nicely for him and Astrid. It was hard to sort through and move his father's things and he could only bear to do a little each day. It was mostly cleared out now, and he had Gobber and Valka's help in renovating it to accommodate the new couple after the wedding. He had a new bed brought in, and a fireplace out of gronkle iron. He had yet to put his desk up, though he had the wood for it against the wall. Against the other wall were chests and shelves, along with a bench his father had built for his mother. Valka thought it was fitting that it go to Hiccup and Astrid.

His mother had slept in this room up until recently, sorting through her husband's things when Hiccup was busy, or, because he didn't want to. She had moved her things to another hut she had built nearby, so now Hiccup had the house to himself. He still slept upstairs in his own bed, and after he moved downstairs his upstairs room would be for guests and one day, for his child after him.

* * *

Out over the ocean, a single ship glided through the water. It was very large with several white masts and a black flag perched up top. As the sun started to rise, men began to come out on deck. Some wore ragged clothes while others were dressed proudly, with swords strapped to their waists and their hair tied back and covered in sea spray, with wind-worn faces. Many did not dress as Vikings would, and from the air only one could be seen with a horned helmet atop his head. They shouted and cheered as though in celebration. Suddenly, a young woman with dark hair, once pinned up but half-undone by rough handling, was dragged up onto the deck. She wore a large, lacy dress torn to shreds at the ends and her hands were tied behind her. She was also gagged.

The men cheered and sang as they pushed her around. One of the men, who was young with dark hair and handsome features took a swig from a bottle before approaching the girl. "Well, chaps, I guess we better stop all this."

Everyone stopped singing and pushing her around at the same time, looking at the one who had spoken with confusion and anger. "Why?" shouted a large man nearest to her. Even she who was being tormented turned to see what he had to say for her.

The young man simply smiled before bowing with his alcohol in one hand before the girl. "Because, she's a woman!" Instantly all the men on board burst into a round of laughter, while the speaker stood up again smiling as he was patted on the back. Before the girl could be grabbed once again, all the laughter suddenly stopped as she could hear footsteps approach her from behind. She turned to see a man staring at her. He removed her gag. Calmly, she spoke to him. "You are the captain I presume?"

"Yes, milady."

"Why have you taken me?"

"Oh, don't worry Lass, you arn't t' be 'armed. You're simply a ransom."

She did not respond. "You're father's a ship cap'n, and he will trade his ship and his gold for your safe return."

"My father has no gold," she said proudly. "But he does have the largest armada. He will hunt you down before he slaughters all of you like the pigs you are!"

"I wouldn't say those things if I were you. Where we are, he 'll never find us until he accepts our terms."

Suddenly a shout was given out by one of the men. "Dragon!" All the men ducked as a dragon flew overhead, with two heads and incredible speed.

"But- but they do not exist!" The hostage cried.

The dragon passed overhead once more before flying away. Just a blur through the sky, and it was gone in the clouds once more. "You'll find that a lot of things exist out here you have never even heard about, milady," said the captain.


	3. Chapter 3

_Just a note: I know there is not a lot of development yet, but I promise that a lot of things will be hinted at in this chapter so bear with me!_

 _Also please review/follow/favorite!_ ;)

* * *

Heather tapped her hand on the door to Astrid's room. There was no response, so she knocked louder. "Astrid, are you up?" She slowly opened the door to see that Astrid had collapsed on top of her bed and was still in the previous night's attire. "Wake up sleepy head," she coaxed her friend as she gently shook her shoulder. 'That's odd', she thought to herself. As long as the two had known each other, Astrid had been an early riser and was startled by the slightest noise. "Astrid," she kept trying. "Today's a big day!" Still no response.

Heather headed back down the stairs. "Hello, Heather. Do you want something to eat?" said Mrs. Hofferson.

"No thank you. I'm still trying to wake her up, plus I just ate."

"That's strange. She's always up before us to train and ride Stormfly."

"I know." Heather headed back upstairs with slight concern. Next to Astrid's bed, she found her axe. "Hey Astrid, nice axe." She said loudly. Heather then took the axe and threw it at the wall by Astrid's bed, where there were already cuts as Astrid had done so in the past.

"I'm up," said Astrid. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. She hadn't been this tired in a long time. "Want to go get breakfast?"

"I just ate lunch."

"What time is it?"

"Early afternoon. Don't worry, I slept in too. No one's even seen Hiccup yet." Astrid figured she had drunk maybe a little too much mead the night before. She started to stand up, but instantly felt dizzy. Heather caught her and steadied her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. What's on the agenda for today?"

Heather was suspicious. Astrid hadn't needed her help steadying herself in years. Yet, this was Astrid she was talking about, who once insisted on training all day after being hit in the leg with a dragon root arrow. "You are supposed to finish deciding on decorations and such."

"Oh, now I remember." Astrid yanked her axe off the wall. "Let's go."

As soon as they made it out the door, the twins ran up to them. They were panting a little. "Astrid, Heather, you won't guess what we saw out over the ocean!" said Ruffnut.

"Was it a bird?" asked Heather.

"No." said Tuffnut. "It was a…"

"Was it water?" asked Astrid.

Ruffnut answered. "Well technically yes, but…"

"Was it a dragon?" asked Heather.

"Will you guys let me finish?!" yelled Tuffnut.

"It was a boat."

"Wait, how did you guys know?"

"Because what else would you see?" Astrid remembered the last time they had seen something over the ocean. They had flown nearly an hour just to find an angry scaldron.

Tuffnut cleared his throat. "It was a ship, but different from any Viking ship I've ever seen."

"Hunters?" Heather asked.

"It had torn white sails," said Ruff.

"And the people weren't dressed as Vikings," said Tuff.

"And when we flew in for a closer look, they acted as though they had never seen a dragon before."

Astrid thought about this. They were probably from outside the archipelago, and perhaps they warranted further exploration. "We should tell Hiccup about this."

"But there is more," panted Tuff.

"Yeah, they had a black flag, and it looked like they had a hostage!"

Heather and Astrid looked at each other at the same time. "Pirates!" said Heather. "I've seen some in the south, before I joined ya'll at the edge a few years ago."

"Then the chief definitely needs to know about this."

* * *

Hiccup woke to Toothless dragging him out of bed. "Toothless, leave me alone!" His dragon started to laugh as he fell out of his blankets. "Yeah, yeah, very funny. Just wait 'il yer tired enough and 'll show ye what it's like."

Hiccup stood up and readjusted his prosthetic leg. As time went on, and his leg grew, he had needed to make new ones that were more versatile. His current one had multiple settings, and built out of gronkle iron, it was slimmer while remaining sturdy and light. Yet, despite being only several months old, it still had some scratches in the metal from trying out some tricks over the ocean. Now that he had finished growing for the most part, he wondered just how long this one would last before needing to be replaced.

He stretched himself before heading outside to see that he had slept until noon. He expected this, with how late he had gone to bed. He wondered if Gobber and Spitelout were still feasting in the great hall. Just as he thought about it, Gobber ran up to him, looking like he was fully rested. "Chief, some of the villagers have been waiting for ye' in the center of town for the preparations to be finalized."

"Very well, Gobber. 'll head straight over."

"And there was also a bit of a problem in the great hall…"

"What happened?"

"Oh, a few tables upturned, nothing I couldn't handle."

"Good." Gobber hobbled behind the chief as he headed for the center of the village.

* * *

Astrid arrived in the center of the village as carts were being brought in with supplies, anything from decorations to food and mead.

"What a shame," said Ruff.

"What?" asked Heather.

"Well, everything is just so- simple." said Tuffnut. "But don't worry. You all are in the company of Tuffnut, wedding planner.

"Tuffnut, everything is already planned out!"

"The decorations?" She pointed to a cart. "The food?" A different cart. "What about your dress?"

"Hiccup's handling it," said Astrid. As if on cue, someone came up to them carrying the dress.

"How do you like it, Ms. Astrid? There is still time to change it."

Astrid held the thing in her arms. It was beautiful. It was white with light blue and green, and more than she expected when Hiccup said he'd handle it. How could she ever not like it?

"It's lovely!"

"Glad you like it, Milady." She turned to see her betrothed standing behind her. She gave him a quick hug, and after stepping back Hiccup was able to see her more clearly. "Are you alright Astrid? You look exhausted."

"Yeah, just tired from last night." There was an awkward moment between them. Usually they were always comfortable with each other, but now neither one of them could speak.

"hu-hum," grunted Heather.

"Oh, right. Hiccup, we have something important to tell you." She looked at Tuff, hoping he could explain it, but he was too busy taste-testing the food.

"We found what appear to be pirates while, Tuff and I were flying, and it looks like they have a hostage." Ruff spoke up.

"Pirates?"

"I have run into the likes of them before. They aren't friendly," said Heather. "They have mostly been eradicated in the archipelago, but according to the twins these are from another land."

"Let's get going then," said Hiccup. He jumped onto toothless as the twins flew off to find Fishlegs and Snotlout. Astrid got onto Stormfly's back, fastening on her mask as she took off from Berk. This was going to be fun.

* * *

"Isn't this fun?" asked Snotlout. "All of us together in the sky like this?'

"It has been a while," agreed Fishlegs.

"Breath it in Fishface, this might be the last chance we get."

"What are you saying?"

"Yeah, what are you saying?" asked Hiccup.

"Well, you know, now that you two are getting married, we aren't going to get to do this anymore. Not that we won't go flying, but Astrid might get pregnant, then you two lovebirds have a life on your own you have to keep. The same will happen if any of us were to finally get married." Hiccup thought about this. Snotlout's words of advice usually didn't make any sense, but this time they were probably true. Astrid however, let out a growl in frustration at what Snot said. "What, I'm just saying it's likely this is our last mission all together, especially with Heather."

Two hours later they riders finally gave up. No sign of the boat. From where the twins last saw them, they could have gone anywhere or docked at one of the few nearby islands, and they couldn't just attack a ship docked in someone else's port.

"We should circle around again," said Astrid. There was a look of exhaustion on her face, and only Hiccup could pick up on it.

"Actually," he said. "We've been around several times already. Toothless is getting a little tired out. We should head back." Toothless was of course well rested, but if he had said 'Astrid's tired' he might not have had all his limbs when he reached Berk. Okay, so less limbs than he already had.

Astrid of course saw through it. When they were halfway back, she flew close to him so they weren't in earshot of the others. "Why are you doing this? Hiccup, I'm fine." The very fact she wasn't putting up much of a fight only confirmed that she was too tired to keep scouring the ocean.

"Just taking precautions." As soon as he said that, he knew he was in trouble, but he didn't hear a response. He turned back to face her, expecting a very angry look, but instead found that she had fallen behind him. When they reached Berk, they were facing the wooded side of the island. As the others flew ahead, Astrid landed in the forest. Hiccup followed suit. Astrid put her hand against a tree and leaned against it.

"Nothing's wrong Hiccup. I just have a headache." And with that she took her axe and swung it at a tree. Hiccup had only seen Astrid like this several times before, and every Viking knew to stay away when Astrid was in one of her moods. Wanting to help her with whatever was wrong, but not wanting to make things worse, he headed back for the village. "Want to go flying later?" he asked.

"Sure, I'll be here." Even though she was tired, she still swung her axe into another tree.

Astrid must have something on her mind, Heather thought as Hiccup returned without her. When something bothered Astrid, she tended to lose sleep over it and take her frustration out on the forest. She just wondered what was on her mind. Or, of course, she might have a cold. Astrid never liked to rest when she was sick. Once Gothi had to give her a sleeping tonic just so she would lie down, at least that's what Fishlegs had told her. Astrid herself would never admit it if she were under the weather.

* * *

Astrid kept throwing her axe. It was the only thing that seemed to calm her mind besides flying, and Hiccup had already decided she was too 'worn out' for that. What right did he have? They weren't married yet. Then again, maybe he was right. She was tired, and her head felt like it was on fire. After killing a few more trees and sending Stormfly home, she walked to the cove and lay at the waters edge.

When Hiccup came back several hours later to check on her, he first checked the cove. Sure enough, she was there. This was her spot as much as it was his and toothless'. She had calmed down a lot, and had more color to her cheeks. She was sitting on a rock with her axe in her lap. "Well hello, milady," he said as he climbed down into the cove with toothless on his tail. "I'm sorry that I made ye turn back."

"It's fine, I was a bit tired."

"Ready to go?"

They both climbed onto Toothless' back and took off into the air. The sun was getting low, and the way it hit the island seemed to further reflect its beauty. When they got up high enough, toothless stopped. "Ye ready?" Hiccup asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." At that, Hiccup jumped off the back of his dragon holding onto her hand. They flew through the air, as the ground and the sea grew closer. She had done this with him before, and she screamed the first time they jumped. As they neared the ground, they let go of each other and pulled something on their suits, allowing their gliders to come out as they soared through the air with toothless close behind them. They could just see Vikings on the ground, staring up at them as they went on their daily business. Hiccup had designed flight suits for some of the more adventure-prone youngsters on the island, but so far only his and Astrid's were completed.

As they neared the cliffs, toothless used blasts to keep them in the air. Suddenly, Astrid looked at the waves beneath her feet and noticed that they looked strange. Everything seemed blurry. She wondered if it was a tear in her eye caused by the rush of air, but couldn't bring her hand to her face to wipe it away until they were on toothless again.

Toothless flew beneath them and Hiccup hooked himself onto his dragon, as she grabbed his hand and he helped her onto the dragon as well. As toothless flew out higher over the sea, Hiccup wound up his suit. But when he looked behind him at Astrid, he saw that her eyes were closed and she was slipping off. He reached out his hand, but it was too late.


	4. Chapter 4

Hiccup wasted no time. "Toothless, dive!" The Dragon had also felt Astrid fall off his back, and dove into action even faster than the words were said. They should have no trouble catching up to her this high above the ocean, but with the occasional rock jutting out of the sea her life could be over way before she hit the water. Luckily, Toothless retrieved her and landed on the cliff edge as his rider bounded off and wrapped Astrid in his arms. He sighed with relief as she was breathing normally, but still was unconscious and limp in his arms. "Come on Astrid, come on, wake up Astrid!" He said quietly as much for his benefit as for hers'. "Come here bud," he called Toothless over as he removed a pouch of water from his pack with one arm, holding Astrid with the other. He slowly brought it to her lips, forcing her to drink. She was pale as a ghost, but slowly she began to come to.

"Hiccup… where…"

"Oh, thank Thor! You are okay, Astrid, you're fine."

"Fine? What happened?" She tried to sit up, but instantly fell back down almost loosing consciousness once again.

"Wow, wow, wow, you need to stay here until you are strong enough. After hooking myself onto the saddle I saw that you had fallen off and were unconscious." Astrid tried to slow her breathing, and once she was fully aware again, she spoke. Her voice was weak and hoarse.

"Wh…why?"

"I don't know. How do you feel?"

"I'm dizzy and weak and – oh my head!" She brought her hands to the sides of her skull, as Hiccup leaned her against a rock. She could not tell if Hiccup was speaking still; all she could hear was ringing as her brain felt like it was exploding within her skull. She couldn't even see clearly, it just went black. She could only feel two arms lifting her up, and the feeling of the air rushing past.

* * *

Suddenly the ground was soft. No, it wasn't the ground, but a blanket. Her headache was gone. Where was she? With a groan, she strained to open her eyes to shut them again; the light almost made her headache come back. She could feel a gentle thud and clicking sound on the floor, but couldn't distinguish anything else. She heard a voice speak, but she couldn't understand what was being said. Thinking over the words, she could distinguish 'Astrid', but nothing else. Astrid, Astrid was her name.

"Hiccup?" She spoke it as a reflex, only remembering who the name belonged to a second later.

"Astrid, are you awake?"

Slowly she opened her eyes again. "I am now."

She was in Gothi's hut. Being Astrid and all, she had only needed to come here once or twice, apart from checking on someone else. She didn't even try to move this time, afraid she would grow faint if she did. Slowly the room stopped spinning and she could see Hiccup clearly. "What's wrong with me?"

Before Hiccup could answer, Gothi shooed him out to examine his beloved. Outside the hut, he saw the rest of the gang, including Heather and Dagur, excluding Ruffnut. The sun had set, and the gang had followed him to Gothi's hut when they saw him carrying Astrid. "Where's Ruffnut?"

"She went flying on patrol with Eret," said her brother.

"Hiccup, is she okay?" asked Fishlegs.

"I don't know yet, but she is awake. For now." They stared in silence at each other, unsure of what to say.

Heather knew they would all remain solemn like this until their attention was diverted, especially Hiccup. With one look at her brother, he immediately understood. "Hiccup," said Dagur. "I heard someone say on the way here that they were looking for the chief. Something about a stray zippleback scaring a flock of sheep."

"I know what you are trying to do Dagur," said the Chief, but there was no anger in his voice. "But I prefer to remain here in case Astrid asks for me. Snotlout, could you handle the sheep?"

"On it."

"Fish, where are the Hoffersons?" asked Heather.

"I couldn't find them. I'll go look again."

The rest who remained prepared to wait in silence for a while longer, when Gothi came out and began to draw with her staff. Hiccup, who had learned to understand most of her symbols, translated. "Astrid is alright. She is ill and is confined to bed until she is strong enough." Hiccup was about to go in to see her, when Gothi held up her hand to stop him. She began to mark with her staff again. "She is not to be disturbed." Just then, Mr. and Mrs. Hofferson ran up the steps to the deck outside Gothi's hut with Fishlegs in tow. They went in to see their daughter. A minute later, they came out with her father carrying Astrid in his arms. I was a shocking thing to see Astrid carried; the last time she had to be was when she was fighting the scourge. She did not seem to be enjoying it either, as her friends wished her well before her father carried her all the way to their home. Hiccup followed, and helped her parents settle their daughter into her bed. After they finished, her mother ran to make her some broth and her father to feed Stormfly, upon urgent request of their daughter.

"Help me sit up," said Astrid, who personality-wise was back to her old self.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Hiccup relented and helped her to sit up. "Dizzy?"

"Not anymore."

"How much can you move?"

"Why do you ask? If I say I can move, you will tell me not to try until tomorrow, and if I say I can't you will call Gothi." Hiccup kissed her on the cheek.

"Alright milady, but I will be back tomorrow to see you."

"If you're not, I'll hunt you down!"

* * *

The next day the Dragon master was busy with both chief's duties and wedding preparations, too much so to visit his betrothed until the mid afternoon. As soon as he was free, he rode Toothless once around the island to check for suspicious activity, and then landed outside the Hofferson home. Heather was outside, preparing to mount her razorwhip. "She's worse," she said as Hiccup approached the door. He stopped.

"Astrid?"

Heather nodded. "She can't hold anything down." After she flew off, Hiccup knocked on the door to the hut.

"Oh, Hiccup," her father said as he opened the door. "I was wondering when you were going to show up." Hiccup slowly climbed the stairs to Astrid's room, stopping near the top as he heard the sound of someone loosing their lunch.

He opened the door. "Hiccup, you're supposed to knock." She was fully clothed, but her hair was down except for a rough ponytail to hold out of her face. She was in such a sweat that her hair was drenched along with her clothes and sheets, but for the most part she was in the same position he had left her in, the covers still draped over her legs with her back up on a pillow so she could sit up. Hiccup went right to work with a wet rag dabbing her forehead and cleaning her up. "You don't need to do this."

"Yes I do. You are to be my wife in a few days time anyways, and we will have to care for each other then."

"No, I mean, I can handle myself." She sounded angry, but Hiccup knew her well enough to know she bore no resentment towards him, but was more so upset about the whole situation.

"I know you can. That's why I want to help." He laid her back some more against the pillow and sat next to her on the bed. Astrid was always so hardcore and independent, that she never seemed to know when she really needed the help. This time she didn't, but when you could manage to persuade Astrid to take your help, that means she wants it (but is too strong to admit it).

"So," she said after a minute. "How are the preparations?" She smiled, and Hiccup knew it wasn't forced.

"Good. If I hadn't been there this morning to supervise them though, the twins would have succeeded in changing everything. I mean, we might show up outside the great hall where we expect the wedding to take place, where it's been for generations, to find that all the guests showed up to… I don't know, Outcast island or something like that! They saw the weather is lovely there this time of year."

Astrid laughed. Hiccup took pleasure in the thought of getting to hear that same wonderful sound for the rest of his life. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For catching me. I haven't thanked you yet."

He leaned over to kiss her cheek. "For you, milady, anything."


	5. Chapter 5

_Authore's note- Sorry this one took me so long. I've been busy with school and will try to have the next one up in about a week._

 _Thanks for all the supportive reviews and I look forward to hearing more, and am not opposed to criticism._

 _Please review/Favorite/Follow! Thanks._

* * *

Hiccup watched out over the vast ocean. The view was always the same; either it was clear and a tad foggy or frozen over in a blizzard, which it was for a third of the year. That's Berk for ya', but it was home.

He walked down the road through the village. This morning he was to hold a council meeting to discuss the recently low stock of fish and then he was to meet with a diplomat. Oh, diplomats. The chief had a great respect for them, for he was one himself, but he was tired of seeing them. He almost wished war would be declared so he could stop seeing them. Almost. Of course he had been threatened by several islands in the past, but once they saw the dragon army invaders seemed to grow week in the knees. Besides, whenever word came that an armada was being assembled, the Dragon Master would pay a visit to whoever was in charge. A friendly visit, mind you, and when he was greeted by the more Viking types he wouldn't put up a fuss. Yet making peace with powerful men before they became powerful enough to think of attacking Berk seemed the best strategy.

He took a right turn down one of the streets; he would not head to the great hall until he had seen Astrid. He hoped she would be feeling better. If she wasn't, he may have to put back the wedding several days. She would kill him for it, but he didn't want them to say their vows while she struggled to stay composed, or standing.

He knocked on the Hofferson home. "Ah, Chief," said Mr. Hofferson. "Good to see you. Astrid's still in her room, and I don't know if she's awake yet, but you may go up and see her if you wish."

"Thank you," he said as he walked up the stairs. When he reached the door, he knocked.

"Come in," came the voice of Astrid. He could tell from her tone of voice that she had just woken up, but couldn't tell if she was hiding discomfort or not. She was good at it, when she did. When he entered, he saw that she was in her sleepwear as he could see it on her arms and leg. The rest of her was under a blanket, all sprawled out on the bed. He realized in that moment that he had never before seen her in her sleepwear, as it wasn't exactly smiled upon, but in this case it was acceptable since she was covered and ill. Due to her position, he wondered how great her night had been. He had seen Astrid sleep before, and she was not one to toss and turn. Yet when he looked at her sleepy face, her smile put him at ease. "Hi Hiccup." She readjusted herself as she spoke so that her leg wasn't sticking out and she was leaned against the headboard. She lat out a loud yawn as she did so, struggling to keep her eyes open with what little light had begun to fill the room.

Hiccup was not used to seeing Astrid so tired even upon waking up, so this caused him some concern he tried to push aside. "How are you feeling today, Mi'lady?"

"Better. Last night after you visited I began to improve." She slowly dropped the grin, yet her face was still peaceful for the most part, except for a slight tightness that appeared when she was deep in thought. Then again, she was sick the day before, and Astrid hardly ever was sick. "You're here early," she spoke as she glanced toward the window at the smallest stream of light that indicated the sun was soon to rise.

"I have several council meetings today, and I wanted to check on you first."

"I feel fine. Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

"No…"

"Why don't you head downstairs? My Mother will fix you something, and I can change and meet you down there."

"Sorry Astrid, but you know Gothi's orders. Bed rest for you, plus I don't have time."

He just caught her angry glare, though he could tell she carried little malice behind it. "But Hiccup…"

"I know you can walk around. I mean, ye are Astrid after all. Yet, I don't want my wife fainting on our wedding day."

"Gothi said I could get up when I can stand it."

He let out an audible sigh. "Only if you aren't dizzy when you do so," he conceded.

Astrid smiled. She tended to do so a lot more often nowadays since there was peace. Hiccup could tell that she was bored and a bit annoyed by having no one to fight as she was a warrior and it's kind of her life calling to fight as one, but peace did lead to more relaxing flights and calm meals, when she could let her guard down a little. She still analyzed every situation like they were under attack, but the peace had allowed her to realize just how uptight she had been. "Fine, but only if you join us for lunch."

"Will do." The light began to stream more heavily into the room, or at least it had begun to as they spoke. "I'm sorry, but I have to head to the hall. They are expecting me. See you later Astrid," he said.

"Just go be chief," she called you before he could reach the door, causing him to turn around.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Always supporting me."

"It's nothing you haven't done for me."

"I know, but… Promise me you'll never leave me to do this on my own?"

She laughed. "I promise Hiccup. And I'll get to say it again in four days."

* * *

Lavinia sighed as she released her hold on the door once more. She had learned hours ago that it wouldn't budge, but she kept feeling the urge to escape, as if somehow that would be accomplished by continually yanking on the metal bars of the brig hoping to loosen them. And, she had no idea what she would do if she had gotten out. I mean, what was she thinking? She was in the middle of an ocean, a strange one at that.

She sank to her knees onto the dirty wooden floor that smelled like a mixture of puke and human excrement, only just overrun by the smell of the saltwater that was inevitably dumped onto the floor to clean it. Even if she managed to escape from this cell, she would risk abuse at the hands of the wicked pirates who would come at times to torment her. The bars, if anything, did more for her safety than anything else.

A few tears fell from her eyes, but not very many. She had shed more than her fair share of tears in the past week, and was all dried up now. When she wiped them from her face with her frayed sleeve, she happened to notice that someone was watching her. It was the young man with the dark hair that fell over his face, partly covering up his grin. She had not seen him in several days, not since she had met the Captain. Already she had decided she hated him most of all. She wanted to ask, 'what do you want?' or even to give him a cold stare to make him feel guilty for being on the wrong side, but she instead found herself turning away from him. He continued to stare at her, as silently as he had snuck close, probably just investigating the loud shake she had given the bars. "Are you hungry?" he asked her. Laughter from the deck above was heard, then died down again, as she realized the scoundrels usually ate around this time.

She simply gave him a blank glance. "I'm Caleb, by the way," he said.

What was this boy doing talking to her as though she were to be flirted with? "I don't care."

"I'm sure you don't, but do you want something to eat?" She reluctantly nodded. He left and returned a few minutes later with a fresh cup of water and a plate with a large piece of meat, a chunk of bread, and an apple on it.

"Thank you," she made herself say. She wanted to ask why he was being nice, but she didn't, not really wanting to understand his motives. He stayed nearby while she ate, but did not keep his eyes on her to her relief. The he carried the plate with him as he left, without another word. She had to admit that she was attracted to him, not only because of his looks but because he had been kind. Yet, she chided herself for it a moment later. As she heard the men above deck shouting for land, probably loading up on more supplies, she said a prayer, asking God to please help her father to get there soon, before anything else happened.

* * *

The chief finally had finished his meetings around midday. As he walked out of the great hall, he saw a triple strike land nearby. It was always a rarity to see one of them, and only a few were permanent residents on the island. He decided to check it out. As he grew close, he saw that it was Sleuther, one of Dagur and Mala's dragons. Mala was riding him, who he hadn't seen in several years. Dagur approached and helped his wife off the dragon's back, which confused Hiccup until he saw how large her belly was. "Ah, dragon master," she said as she exchanged a careful hug with her old friend. "How is it being Chief?"

"You should know better than I do."

Dagur put his arm on his wife's shoulder. "I'm sure you've noticed the newest member of the family," said Dagur quickly, noticing his brother's awkward silence as it was rude to ask. After that, the apprehension faded.

"Congratulations! I mean, wow, why didn't you say anything?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise," said the proud father-to-be.

"How far long are you?" said Astrid. Wait, Astrid, wasn't she supposed to be resting? Yet here she was coming out from behind Hiccup.

"Seven months. I didn't want to miss the wedding."

"Astrid, are… are you feeling better?" Hiccup asked her quietly.

Astrid turned red, apparently embarrassed that he brought it up in front of guests. "Yeah, I'm fine." Hiccup wanted to press further, but knew it to be unwise.

Just then Snotlout dove in from the air, almost crashing into Sleuther in the process. As the dragons became reacquainted, Snot ran to Hiccup to see a very pregnant Mala standing next to him, Astrid, and Dagur. "Hiccup… uh, er, hi Mala… Hiccup you won't believe what… oh, uh Mala," he looked to her belly, her hand placed softly over it. "Congratulations. Hiccup, I…"

"Spit it out," said Astrid, as Heather and Fishlegs turned the corner.

"Several ships are approaching. Foreign ones."

"The pirates?" Heather asked, running over as Windshear, sensing her tension, ran over to her rider.

"I couldn't tell, they started shooting at me… barely got here before they did," he panted.

"They are already here?!" yelled Hiccup. Before he got an answer, cannon shots were heard. Toothless flew to Hiccup as he leaped on. The other riders did the same with their dragons, except Mala. Then the battle began.


	6. Chapter 6

_Sorry for the wait. It was due to how busy things are at the beginning of a new year. I have no intent on giving this story up. I have been working on this chapter for a while so please forgive me for my tardiness._

 _Also, please review even if you don't like something!_

 _And, thank you all who reviewed, and followed, and favorited! Your encouragement means a lot!_

* * *

Tuffnut and his sister were up to their usual antics; or, unusual antics, since all they had to work with was the unpopulated stretch of Berk, past the farmlands and on the other side of the mountain from the village.

"I can't believe the chief banished us for the day!" moaned Tuffnut. "And we didn't even deserve it!"

"I get what you mean," continued Ruffnut. "All we did was light fire to a hut. The dragons do that all the time without us and they don't get in trouble!"

"Yeah, I mean, how were we supposed to know it was a guest hut? Or, should I say how was _I_ to know…"

"What are you trying to say dragon-breath?" She snapped.

"Well how was I supposed to know it was a guest hut? You are the one who goes for walks around the village. You should know these things Barf-but!"

"What are you insulting?! Barf, or my but? Either way it isn't going to be pretty!"

Before his twin could bash his head in, starting a fight which would inevitably would end in the two (or four, if you include the dragon) falling off the cliff and into the sea below, which during the tumble would result in Tuffnut being very much hurt and Ruffnut laughing hysterically (if you could call her maniacal laugh hysterical), Tuffnut saw something in the distance. He lifted up his hand as a grin spread over his face, causing his sister to stop her current trajectory to see what had distracted Tuffnut from the soon-to-be-kerscuffle.

A small boat had landed on the beach, and strangely dressed men were on the shore looking about. Silently and in unison, the duo and their dragon slunk behind some plant life a bit closer to where the strangers were.

"Sir, if I may, this island seems to be inhabited."

"Yet this is where the map we were sent leads. They probably wish to meet in a secluded location anyways for the exchange. Signal the ship to circle the island. We will continue to scour the shore here to see what we find," said an older man who was obviously a commander of some sorts over the others.

"Yes sir."

"Bryant?"

"Sir?" called a young man as he climbed out of the boat; the twins hadn't been able to see him before he did so. He had fair hair and wore brown pants and a brown leather vest, with a pack strapped over his shoulder and a journal in his hand as he approached the older man.

"You may continue your research. Go with Lewis," he said, as another man dressed like the older one, presumably Lewis, came over to accompany the young man. "If you see another one of those filthy dragon beasts you may need protection." The two of them headed off into the woods, in the opposite direction of the twins.

Ruffnut turned to her brother, groaning quietly as he did so. "Does this mean we have to tell Hiccup?"

"O contraire, my scheming compadre, would he not take more joy in seeing us more self-sufficient?"

"I was aware he knew us to be all too self-sufficient in causing trouble…"

"Yet we are self-sufficient sufficiently enough to solve our own predicaments." Tuffnut replied.

"I suppose you are right in that our self-sufficiency may give us sufficient time to cause predicaments, but what is the point of solving predicaments when we don't get any predicaments to cause!"

The last sentence came out a little too loudly, and the men on the beach instantly turned to the source of the noise. The commander motioned for several of his men to check it out. They crept closer and closer to the bushes the twins and their dragon were hiding behind. Finally, seeing nothing, they turned to head back. "What do you think he will do when he finds them?" one of the men asked.

"If I know the commander," replied another, "He will not leave a single one of them alive."

The twins did not have to look at each other to know their next move. No one insulted their dragon and threatened them in the same day. They swooped up into the air and with a single motion, cut most of the men off from the woods with a line of dragon fire. Tuffnut started cheering. "Yeah! Look at the cowards!"

"Woohoo!" cheered his sister as the fleeing men bounded into the boat and left the shore towards one of the ships in the distance. They didn't notice that there were more than one earlier.

The twins decided that they had had enough scheming for the day and promptly flew home.

* * *

Eret son of Eret was a patient man, at least when it came to things he could put off. Until Drago had come along, the trapping business had been good to him as it had been to his father before him. The jist of the trade was catch yay many dragons by a certain date, sell your catch and repeat until either the off-season or the holidays, whenever you had enough saved up to stop for a few months to spend time with family. Except, Eret had no family to call his own, so for the better part of his teenage years his days were full of adventure seeking and improving his trade enough to stay ahead and make a living for himself best he could.

Then Drago came along. Drago was not a patient man. Eret had the branding to prove it, which stood out from all the regular scars that came with the job. Drago had turned trapping into not just a living, but a necessity as failure did not just limit your pay but put your life at risk. And quitting wasn't exactly an option. It wasn't smart to put yourself on the Tyrant's bad side.

And now he was with the Dragon riders, spending the greater part of the hunting season on the back of the very thing he had trained to hunt in his down time, feeling more in control of his destiny now than all those years of training had left him.

Not that making an honest living was a bad thing, of course.

But now that he was in control, he found himself for an odd reason wanting to stay. They surely didn't need the help of his dragon-trapping advice. He wondered if it had something to do with the chief's kindness as accepting him as a fellow rider; it was an honor to be sure. A part of him wondered if it had something to do with Ruffnut. They still spent a lot of time together, resulting in a thriving friendship, though he had been glad when she stopped pestering him about his muscles and started to pay more attention to the other two available men in her age range. Eret wasn't even in her age range, being at the almost 26 while she was twenty. He just supposed that he felt a sort of soft spot for the girl.

He was interrupted from his thoughts as he rode his rumblehorn when the sound of cannons ran out in the air. At first he thought it must be a test in the defense system or something like that, but when they rang out a second round he became concerned. He quickly flew to the coast, which took a minute since he was a good distance away, to see an invading army. First he thought how foolish they must be to attack Berk of all places with only four ships and no dragons on their side. However, his mind was filled with fear as he saw Toothless avoid getting hit with a cannon blast to run right into a mast at full speed, knocking him and his rider onto the deck. He was not worried for Hiccup's safety, but as he drew close, he saw something in Hiccup's stance as he rushed the captain that he had hardly ever seen before: hate. He was preparing to kill that man where he stood.

* * *

When Hiccup and the others reached the source of the cannon fire, four ships could be seen approaching the docks. Part of the docks had been destroyed. It didn't make sense; why would they fire upon the docks when they had to, you know, dock there?

It quickly made sense when they aimed at their dragons, missing at every shot as the riders were too experienced, several hitting the docks and most landing in the water. The chief considered landing on the lead ship to confront the leader of the attack and negotiate peace, but when he approached the lead ship a round of strange shots rang out that sounded like cannon shots only less intense. Yet he didn't see anything fired. He heard something whizz past, and even if he couldn't see the projectiles, he heard a shout from Fishlegs who had been hit in some way. "Fishlegs!" He cried out as he flew to where he was. Meatlug was already rushing to shore. When he got there, he noticed a bleeding cut on the side of his arm, where something had grazed his skin.

"I'm fine Hiccup!" The wound was bleeding a lot, and when Hiccup heard another round of what was fired at them the first time, he saw two dragons go down.

Now he was angry. How could four ships, even large ones, down his dragons with projectiles they couldn't even see? With the other riders occupying the other three ships, he flew to the lead ship, where he could see the captain giving orders. He started his decent for another round of cannons to go off, and this time some were aimed for the village. Toothless dodged a cannonball to hit the mast at full speed, knocking him down onto the deck as Hiccup rolled and landed with inferno already in his grasp. The men on the ship jumped back to see the flaming sword, and before they could react Hiccup was already headed for their captain.


	7. Chapter 7

_And another chapter, of which there will (hopefully) be many more after I take the PSAT._

 _Woohoo! 21 followers on my first fanfic!_

 _As for the plot: I'm sure you all saw this coming, but..._

* * *

Hiccup looked back at her one last time with a smile. Astrid smiled back and he slowly shut the door behind him. She listened to the familiar step-click-step-click down the stairs. Then she sighed. Not an annoyed sigh or – Thor forbid – a lovesick sigh, but a tired one.

4 days and she would be a married woman. She should be enjoying her last days of freedom, and therefore couldn't afford to spend a moment more in bed than was absolutely necessary, which is why Astrid spent the next several hours getting hydrated and stretching. Finally, around mid-morning, she tried to walk again.

She slid to the end of the bed and brought her feet within an inch of the ground before she stopped. _What if Gothi was right?_ She put such a thought out of her head. Just because something is possible doesn't keep it from being extremely unlikely, and for a shield maiden like Astrid? Never.

She took a deep breath before standing up. She silently thanked the gods when she found she was no longer dizzy. Neither were her limbs exhausted like they were the last three times she had tried to leave her room. Which meant…

Astrid changed into her clothes and then her armor, putting her axe on her back and grabbing her helmet/mask with one hand before leaving the room. She kept her free hand near the wall just in case.

She managed to make it out of the house at last, and let Stormfly out of the stables. Her dragon nearly tackled her in excitement that her rider was up and about once more. And because she hated being cooped up and unable to go flying; she had tried to barge into Astrid's room the day before sensing something was wrong, so the Hoffersons had to latch the stable door.

Astrid figured that a late morning flight was in order, as long as she stayed close enough to the ground. If anyone tried to stop her, they would end up with a black eye.

She quickly had Stormfly's saddle on and her dragon swooped up into the air. Her rider sighed as she laid back, one hand beneath her head. Stormfly let out a concerned squawk and turned her head to look at her. Astrid placed her other hand on her dragon's back, soothing her scales. "I'm alright girl. I was just sick for a few days, and now I'm fine. Nothing to be concerned about," she said with a laugh. "Even my dragon is concerned!"

Astrid saw Sleuther a while later, deciding then to land. Hiccup seemed annoyed to see her up and about, but she just wanted to forget about it all. She was better now, and there was nothing to be concerned about. She hated feeling dependent.

And then the cannon shots rang out.

She did not see that Fishlegs had fallen until the two dragons went down. Hiccup signaled for her to stay back as he went for the main ship. Instead of protesting, she went to help the dragons.

One of them had landed, but the other hit the water. "Stormfly, dive!" she commanded. The nadder had a bit of trouble getting the monstrous nightmare to shore, so when they landed Astrid jumped off allowing her a bit of rest. The nightmare was groaning loudly and tried to scorch her when she drew close, so it helped that her suit was fireproof. She rolled out of the way of the blast and held out her hand gently as she crept forward. Finally the dragon settled and pressed its snout to her hand.

Astrid immediately ran to its wing to see two holes and a tear. It looked painful, but it could wait. So, she ran to the second dragon, a gronckle, the one who had hit the land. It wasn't even trying to resist. There was blood seeping from a spot in its neck.

It was dead.

The cannons sounded again, as did an explosion not far away. Astrid turned to see a hut blown to shreds. Immediately she ran to it, ducking under a dragon's tail as it rushed past. She heard screaming from inside, so she leaped through the flaming window. A small boy was crying in a basket in the corner across from the fireplace, which was probably the cause of the fire as bits of debris were lit. She took him in her arms but the wall the window was on was already too ablaze to risk going through with the boy in her arms, and the door used to be a part of the wall that had been blown apart, and the ceiling had collapsed over the hole. She quickly looked around, and the only way out was up the stairs. Astrid held him closer as she began to cough on her way up, probably from the fact that smoke rises; she could hardly see the steps in front of her. Finally she saw sunlight from a window and jumped, tucking into a roll and set the lad onto the grass, which had started to grow back after the last freeze. Astrid laid beside him after coughing several times, attempting to fill her lungs with cleaner air.

A woman ran to embrace her son, lifting him up into her arms. After realizing he was alright, she offered Astrid a hand up. She shook her head, so the woman sat down next to her. "Thank you Astrid, I am indebted to you."

"No problem," she managed to say.

"Astrid, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just out of breath." The woman did not understand why Astrid would be out of breath, but turned to her son again to settle his tears.

* * *

The dragon master landed on the deck of the ship and unsheathed his sword. He ran towards the captain and saw him flinch as he held inferno to his neck. "Tell your men to stand down!"

There was no response. He could see confusion on the man's face. "I said to stand down!"

"Alright" he breathed, and he could just make out a tear as it fell down the side of the captain's face. "Stand down men!"

There was the thud of the crew's weapons as they hit the wooden deck, and he gestured for the man to get onto his knees. At this he refused. He sighed. _How stubborn can these pirates be?_ But then the man spoke. "Parley!"

The dragon master tilted his head to the side a bit in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"Parley!" yelled the man, a bit jolted when he heard his opponent's voice. "I invoke the right of parley! As a pirate, you must follow the code! You must take me to the man in charge."

At this Hiccup laughed. "I am the man in charge. I am Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Chief of Berk, the island you just unwisely attacked. And if anyone is a pirate, it is you." At this moment Eret son of Eret landed Skullcrusher on the deck.

"The other ships have been disarmed, Mi'lord. Is this one giving you any trouble?" Only Hiccup could pick out the concern in his voice.

"As a matter of fact, he is." He turned back to his prisoner. "Who are you, and why are you here?"

"I am Captain Alexander Ainsworth of England, and I have come to barter for my daughter's freedom."


	8. Chapter 8

It was all his fault. If he had been more firm with her, this wouldn't have even been an issue. Yet, there they were, and he was to blame.

Two months ago, Captain Ainsworth been commanded by her majesty to head an exploratory mission to the North-West in search of islands previously undiscovered or new peoples. There had been word in Ireland that an archipelago existed out towards Greenland, and while Alexander had trouble believing rumors, he was honored to have been chosen by the Queen for an expedition.

His daughter had gone with him before on voyages ever since her mother died, and had sea legs as good as any midshipman, but even he thought it was unwise for her to go on a mission that far North. She should stay in the country with her aunt, he said. After all, she was a lady, and as such should not spend her days on a navy vessel.

Yet, she made a pleading case, and he had agreed. He did not want to leave his little girl for perhaps months all alone with her aunt.

But now, she was alone with far worse company.

They had docked in Ireland to restock, and whilst he was ashore someone snuck onto the ship and took her. It was night and his men had kept watch, but not very well as they never expected anyone to try to sneak onto a vessel of the royal navy.

That was three weeks earlier. The ransom note had come a week ago. The thieves would not harm her in return for a ship. Of course, they wouldn't be getting a ship if everything went smoothly.

But that wasn't an option anymore. The map they received along with the ransom note led them to this island, a part of the very archipelago they were sent to find. The scholars onboard his ships were thrilled with the discovery, but his daughter was at stake, so how could he be?

They went aboard to see if they could find anything, and they were fired upon by a dragon with riders. It seemed improbable, that maybe they had imagined it, but after all, dragons themselves were improbable enough. All Ainsworth and his men knew was that they had been fired upon as they went to negotiate a treaty, so they could no longer appear civil with these pirates.

They attacked, but there was more to the simple village than they had anticipated. They tried to take out their soldiers in the air and avoid the village, but as the fight grew less in their favor, the captain gave the order to fire upon the village in hopes of distracting the army enough to take out their leader.

Finally they succeeded in doing so, and knocked the sleek black dragon onto the deck. The plan was clear without a discussion; all of his men not manning the cannons would converge and rope the beast and apprehend its rider. What they did not expect was the rider to roll into a battle stance at the very moment the brute hit the deck, and the flaming sword in his hand was enough to make the dim-witted seamen hesitate.

Ainsworth wasn't willing to accept defeat. If he did, his daughter would have no one to fight for her. But he had no choice.

He had failed her.

Once he made his plea for a negotiation, in Norse since that was the language the riders spoke in, the rider dressed in black turned to look at the other rider on deck, and lowered his sword. "Sorry, but I believe you have the wrong island."

"The wrong island?" It began to sink in, and Ainsworth was anything but pleased. "This is the island we were given directions to come to!"

"Who gave you those directions?"

"Who gave me… why, the very pirate scum that stole my daughter away. Are you saying you are not the pirates who did such a thing?"

The man shook his head. "We are not pirates. However," he said as he raised his sword again. "I would like to know why you and your men attack my island and me dragons. If you truly came to negotiate for your daughter, why would you put her at risk?"

"We were fired upon first after coming ashore south of here, by a dragon and its riders."

The man groaned. "What color dragon?"

"Green."

"Did they cause any damage to your vessel, your men or anything else?"

"Well, no…"

He turned to the other rider once more. "Eret," he said with another groan. " _Go get_ _the twins_."

After the other rider left, the captain considered ordering his men to attack the lone rider on his deck, but with a now-awake dragon by his side, he decided it was best not to risk it.

"As you say this may all be just a big misunderstanding, but I still don't trust you."

The Captain remained silent. He feared retribution for the damage that was caused, but did not let his fear show. Though he did not trust the chief any more than he was trusted.

"Show me this map."

* * *

When the order went out from the captain to surrender, the other ships were signaled to follow suit. The two closer ships received the signal, and when the shooting stopped from them the fourth ship's commander ordered his men to follow suit, though he did not realize surrender had been called. Heather landed on the second and Dagur on the third to make sure the troops were standing down. The mast of one was badly damaged.

Snotlout saw it as his duty to land on the deck of the third ship. "Come on Hookfang, we got 'em now!" Hookfang dove down suddenly towards the ship very fast. "HooookFaaang!" A second later they came to an abrupt stop on deck. "Stupid dragon," he muttered to himself as he climbed down.

When he turned around, he saw all the men on deck holding their strange sticks in his face. "Hey, back off, stupid pirates! You guys surrendered!"

The men looked at each other in confusion, but still held their weapons in his direction. They could not understand his language. No one moved for several minutes. Snotlout kept hoping that Heather or her chaotic brother would happen to glance in their direction, but they didn't. So, he tried to get the attention of his dragon, who seemed very not bothered that Snotlout was in danger. First he tried calling his name. No luck. He tried to kick him. Still no luck. "Hey, Hookie, I'll give you some extra fish… HOOKFANG GET OVER HERE!" The men on deck may not have understood his words, but they shoved their weapons closer when he yelled. This got Hookfang's attention, and he instantly burst into flames, grabbed Snotlout by his armor, threw him onto his back, and got out of there. Snotlout didn't think twice about it – his armor was fireproof – until he looked back to see that the ship was on fire. _Oh great, just what I needed._

* * *

Fishlegs was still bleeding heavily when the sound of the shots subsided. He tried his best to wrap his arm with what he had, but it didn't seem to help; he needed stitches. The gash was nothing like he had ever seen before, and despite the pain he was in, his intelligent mind could not help but be curious as to what kind of weapon could have caused this.

The blast of whatever had hit him nearly sent him off of Meatlug, and she had reached the shore just before he slid off her back, in a bit of shock. He had told Hiccup to leave him. He could get to Gothi on his own.

That is, if he could get back on Meatlug, who had the idea that flying probably wasn't the best thing for her rider in this condition. By the time she was settled enough to mount, Fishlegs in all of his brute strength began to feel the effects of blood loss. Halfway through the flight, he was sure he would pass out before he arrived.

When they landed on the porch of the village healer, Gothi went right to work cleaning him up, along with a man who had come to the healer for an injury that was far less serious, which probably occurred when the docks were blown to shreds.

Just before the healer forced the young Viking inside her hut, Fishlegs saw one of the ships burst into flames.

"Wait!" he yelled. "I need to help!"

Somehow the elder was able to force him onto the cot. Her helper held him down. Even though Fishlegs knew very well what was coming, he still cried out in pain as the healer stitched the wound closed, as quickly as she could, in case there were more who were injured.

* * *

Ainsworth came out of his cabin with the map and the ransom note. The masked man looked at them closely for several seconds before turning back to Ainsworth. "Tell your men that they are to stay put under the supervision of my riders. They will not be harmed so long as they follow their instructions. You will come to our hall to discuss what is to be done." After the captain nodded, he turned to his men.

"Captain, who are these men?"

"They are the people who live here, Lieutenant. They claim there has been some mistake in us coming here and that they do not have my daughter. This masked man is their chief, and he will take me to their hall to negotiate. You are to make sure that the orders of his riders are followed while I am gone, and he guarantees your safety if you do so."

"Yes sir."

At that moment, the Lieutenant looked over the captain's shoulder to see one of their ships burst into flames as a flaming dragon flew from the scene. Men jumped into the water and started to swim towards the other ships and to the shore.

The captain looked to see the same sight before looking to the chief, who was already in the air. "Blast! What happened?!"

"I don't know sir, I will signal the other ships."

* * *

Once Hiccup was in the air, Toothless flew straight to Snotlout. "What is the meaning of this?"

"They tried to attack me and Hookfang got me out of there! He may be stupid, but it wasn't _our_ fault!"

 _Ugh. How much miscommunication can there be in a day?_ "Look, Snotlout, can you just go find Fishlegs and Astrid and make sure they're alright?"

He groaned. "Fine!"

After he flew off, the chief signaled to Dagur to get the men out of the water and to the lead ship. Ainsworth surely would deal with his men for making the situation even worse than it already was, after they had their little chat.

Hiccup dashed to the lead ship and had Toothless grab the Captain, before heading towards the hall.

* * *

Ainsworth screamed as he was carried off, before remembering that he was probably just being taken to their hall; the feeling of the air rushing past him, however, instilled him with a sense of pure terror.

How were these men able to tame such horribly frightening beasts?

And were these men, perhaps, better than those who stole his daughter, or were they beasts as well?


	9. Chapter 9

When he was finally set down, Ainsworth fell to the ground shaking. As a little boy one always fantasizes flying high above the land, but to actually do so for the first time left him dizzy and nauseous. He slowly sat himself up and looked at his surroundings. He was in a large hall, with a large fire pit near the center. In front of him sat a throne, along with several tables and benches. He could only assume the throne was for the Chief, Haddock if he remembered correctly.

"Need a hand?" he heard from his left. The Chief himself was offering him a lift. He took his hand and stood. The Chief pulled up a chair for him before going to sit on his throne. His dragon burned a spot on the stone floor that appeared to have been burned many times before, and then lay down next to his rider.

Hiccup held the map in one hand and the note in the other. He studied them for a minute before looking at Alexander, and opened his mouth as though he were about to say something.

The doors to the hall burst open, and in came Eret hauling in two others by the horns on their helmets. "Here ye are Chief, they admitted everything."

"Admitted what?" said one, who appeared to be a male but the Captain wasn't completely sure.

"He means the hut, idiot!" said the other one, who Ainsworth guessed was a female. They both finally looked at the Chief, and could tell he wasn't happy. He seldom got angry like this.

They both ran to the throne and threw themselves at his feet. "We… my sister and I, or myself at least, are very sorry. I mean, we messed up, yeah, and will we do it again? Probably. And do we care? No… I mean, yes, we didn't mean it, but we will try to make sure we do it again in the future. Wait…"

Eret had made his way over to one of the important-looking seats. "Tell Hiccup about the beach."

Tuffnut stopped talking. His sister started. "Well," she said as her and her brother stood up. "This boat of foreigners arrived on the beach, so we watched them. They said something about meeting someone about something, and that when they found whoever they were looking for they would destroy them. Since we were the only ones in the area they could find, we blasted them to Valhalla."

The chief facepalmed as the twins were giving each other high-fives. "And neither of you considered even briefly that it might not have been you they were looking for?"

The twins gave each other a look. "Well they did call dragons beasts," said Tuffnut.

"Leave it to you two to start another war." The twins looked at the floor in shame before going and taking their seats at the table.

Then Snotlout threw open the doors and entered the hall. On the way to the chief, he saw Ainsworth and gave him an ugly stare. "Fishlegs is being treated by Gothi and will be here once she's done. I couldn't find Astrid."

"Thank you, Snotlout, for doing what I asked." Snotlout also took a seat. Hiccup was worried about Astrid, but trusted that she could take care of herself. Then something dawned on him. "Captain Ainsworth, are you the only one of your men to be able to speak Norse?"  
"Yes Chief Haddock. Her majesty the Queen of England chose me for the exploration to these waters because I studied Norse in college."

"Then Ruff, Tuff, how did you understand what his men were saying?"

The twins shrugged.

"Do you two understand English?" Ainsworth asked them in English.

"I don't know Tuff," said Ruffnut in Norse. "I _can_ understand what he's saying."

"Yes, my dear sister, I can too, but I just have one question. What's _English_?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Astrid was walking toward Gothi's hut when Fishlegs passed her headed in the opposite direction. His arm was wrapped up and the bandages had a large red spot on them. "Astrid, are you alright?"

She had a hand on the cliff to steady herself, and looked weak, at least weak for Astrid. "I'm fine Fishlegs, I just need to see Gothi to check on something." Then she noticed his arm. "Oh my gods, Fishlegs are you alright?"

"Yeah, I got shot by one of their sticks. It'll be fine though. I say Hiccup fly off to the Great Hall. I bet he wants you there with him. What should I tell him about you?"

She sighed. "Tell him I'm tired and went home to rest." Fishlegs nodded and continued to the great hall. When he had gone out of sight, Astrid continued on. She did not know why she was headed back to Gothi's. She already knew what she would tell her.

* * *

"Hiccup, I believe we can work things out so that we can part on friendly terms," Fishlegs was saying as they all discussed the problem at hand.

"That is what I would wish as well, Chief Haddock," said Ainsworth. "This is all a misunderstanding, and while we did not mean to destroy what we did of your village, neither did you mean to destroy one of my ships."

Hiccup thought for a minute. "What about the dragon that has been killed and the one that has been injured?"

Fishlegs spoke up again. "I for one am very curious as to the weapon that caused the damage in the first place," he said gesturing to his arm.

"I would be willing to provide your people with a sample of our guns in return for the life taken and the damage caused by them."

Hiccup nodded. "To be honest, I just want you and your men to leave so we can deal with the damage caused. Technically it is our fault for starting this so we harbor no ill will towards your people. We have many visitors for the upcoming wedding and I am hoping we can fix everything so we do not have to postpone."

"I know we have caused damage to your village," pleaded Ainsworth, "but I must beg you to help us. Any help at all you can give us is appreciated in finding the pirates who stole my daughter. I fear for her safety."

"I am sorry, but we have a village to fix. You have already done enough. As much as we wish we could help, it would be better if ye were on your way. After you find your daughter, please return under better circumstances and we will create a treaty with you country. Fishlegs and Snotlout, please escort the captain back to his ship."

The three walked out of the great hall, already engaged in a conversation as Fishlegs inquired about their weapons. When the doors shut behind them, Eret turned to the Chief. "Why would you turn them away Hiccup? You are our chief, but I need an answer."

"Eret, I have to rebuild the docks and several homes, and get the island ready for a celebration. We already tried to track the pirates down but came up empty-handed. They will have more luck without us," Hiccup said as he stroked Toothless' head.

* * *

 _A/N: This chapter took like 2 months to write even though it is so short because I kept coming up with writer's block as so much is finally put together and resolved in this chapter. I apologize for the wait._


End file.
